OFFSTAGE: Keith Urban Keeps Me Hanging On

(CMT Offstage keeps a 24/7 watch on everything that’s happening with country music artists behind the scenes and out of the spotlight.)

Ever since the rumors started that American Idol would be getting rid of all four judges next season, I’ve found myself hanging on Keith Urban‘s every word. And now that Angie Miller was sent home, it’s down to Kree Harrison and Candice Glover. I hope they will go back and listen to Urban’s feedback and head into the final week doing everything right.

Here are the Urbanisms that came through loud and clear:

Harrison on “Perfect” by Pink: “How’d you feel about that song choice, Kree? That song choice for me really only proves one thing, and that is you’re a country girl and it doesn’t matter what you sing. You have such a strong signature sound, and I think that’s important.”

Glover on “One ” by U2: “When you start the song, every time, you start singing and there’s just so much power in who you are and what you do. It’s in your voice. It got sharp in a few spots because your adrenaline is just flying. And I love that, because you care.”

Miller on “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” by Elton John: “You’ve got range for days. You can break people’s hearts singing really gently, too. Not to say I wasn’t emotionally affected by it, because I was. If you’re going to go for big notes, choose when to do that. That was a perfect song to actually underplay it. But your voice is spectacular, Angie.”

Glover on “Next to Me” by Emeli Sande: “I was in. I was listening to you tell me about your man. It wasn’t even a song. It was a conversation. It was so perfect. You were just in the zone of melodically riffing and you never felt like you had to come down into the melody.”

Miller on “Try” by Pink: “I love that you didn’t play the piano. To me, you’ve never looked as comfortable performing without the piano. Talk about a bold move. Boston strong, baby.”

Harrison on “Better Dig Two”
by The Band Perry: “I like that song. I don’t know that that’s the place for you. It just didn’t feel right for me. But at the same time, you set the bar so high.”

Glover on “Somewhere” from West Side Story: “Oh my goodness. What was that? How do you do that? If you want to vote for Candice, dial the number on your screen. If you don’t want to vote for Candice, call your doctor. You probably don’t have a pulse.”